WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION

1. WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION COMMENTS FROM CWU, COSATU, NEHAWU, NUM, SATAWU AND SACTWU

2. Overview • Introduction • Understanding of Employment Equity • Experiences of Unfair Discrimination • Employment Equity Processes • Interaction with other laws & the Role of the Courts • Compliance Mechanisms • Conclusion

3. Introduction • Not a comprehensive report • Based on: • Workshop by COSATU Western Cape Office • Questionnaires sent to affiliates • Two Research Studies • Cosatu Workers Survey 2006 • Women on Farms Project 2006

4. Level of Understanding of EE • Employees • Only notices posted but no explanation • No training, awareness programmes • Management: • Some cases generally hostility • Other cases replaced by “going through the motions” • Attitude on how to stall the process

5. Experiences - Blatant discrimination • Blatant Discrimination • E.g. relating to Private Security Sector • Fidelity Springbok Security Services • South African Airways Technical – senior positions • E.g. relating to the Mining Sector • Black Women working in the mines • Contrast with experiences with white women

6. Experiences - Gender Discrimination • Direct Discrimination on the basis of Wages • Women in male dominated professions • Far worse for black women within the designated group of Women • Barrier posed by Gender division of labour • Facilities available to women workers • E.g. Child care facilities • Farm workers • Most Seasonal Workers are women

7. Experiences - Indirect Discrimination • “suitably qualified” / “inherent requirements of the job” • Retention policies to favor employees that have been in companies for long periods • Introduction of intermediary tests, use of terminology like “transfers” to avoid recruitment • Collusion with conservative unions • “Window Dressing” • Current trend of white COO overseeing a black CEO • Promoted but not trained to do the job • Promotion into a non-permanent jobs (Fig 35 p.34)

8. EE Processes - EE Committees • Many instances not established • Membership of the Committees irregular • Collusion with conservative unions to frustrate the working of the committees • Meetings called upon short notice • EE Committees do not clearly understand their roles

9. EE Processes - Consultation • Divergence between management and workers on interpretation of “consultation” • No sufficient recourse where management fails to consult • Lack of effective action by DOL to ensure consultation • Length of time to get response • Procedure of submitting EE report favours employer as little employee can do to dispute contents of report when it is submitted

10. Analysis, Numerical Goals, EE Report • Analysis • Many instances where no analysis has been done • If done, undertaken by consultant • Numerical Goals • Unions not consulted on plans envisaged • Focus on natural attrition • EE Report • Feeling that EE Report is a management tool which unions have no authority to alter • Unions not party to meetings with DOL/Management • Difficult for unions to challenge companies operating in various provinces on information

11. Focus on the Public Sector - the PGWC • Lack of Coordination • No EE Committees in Place • Inaccurate information submitted to DOL and Public Service Commission • Department of Health in Province addresses EE regionally and not at the workplace level.

12. Income Differentials • Apartheid Legacy • Cosatu initial proposal to close wage gap • CEE report concentrates on members at top, middle and professional management • Union difficulties on information on wages • ECC responsibility to report on wage differentials • Clarify time in relation to benchmarks • Support for electronic application form proposal

13. EEA and the Equality Act • Class Actions • Under Equality Act any person can bring claim • Anomaly with EEA in terms of workplace discrimination • Frustration by workers in terms of time/cost • Proposal to permit in cases of EEA class action • Awareness campaign to distinguish redresses under the Equality Act and EEA (proposal given by COSATU to DOJ and SAHRC

14. EEA & Skills Development Act (SDA) • Is meant to support EEA • Need for operational link between the two • Relationship to employment equity plans • Problems of separation of the two committees i.e. EEC and skills committees

15. Broad Bases Black Economic Empowerment • Skewed towards corporate interest instead of workers (need for redistribution) • BBBEE however highlights shortcomings of EEA • Absence of targets and timeframes • Lack of clear guidelines to distinguish between different categories within the designated group

16. Monitoring and Compliance • EEA uses carrot rather than stick approach • Role of Courts • Lack of compliance • Less reports received • Less progress in implementation • Weakness of the existing two pronged enforcement process • Labour Inspectors compliance orders • DG Review

17. Conclusion • Progress – very slow for 9 years • Understanding - Low among workers • Prevalence of unfair discrimination • EE Processes not being clearly implemented • DOL needs to develop clear strategies • Link skills and EE • Effective monitoring and compliance mechanisms • Conduct analysis of implementation • General – need for minimal targets

18. Summary of Recommendations • Improving Understanding • Awareness programmes with enforcement possibilities • DOL target management, employees TOTs, • Link EE to business objectives to draw incentives • Discrimination • Transparent recruitment strategies • Guidelines “inherent requirements of the job” • Guideliness to distinguish specific groups within the designated groups • DOL should monitor tokenism

19. Summary of Recommendations • Incentives to companies versus name & shame • Need for DOL, DOJ and SAPS to increase enforcement in relation to vulnerable groups like farmworkers • Integration with SDA, Equality Act etc • Examine existing of compliance orders